24 October 2007 9:00 GMT / By Stephen Patrick

If you own a notebook then you’ll know that docking stations are nothing new as they can add a host of extra features.

However, in this age where digital and multimedia is becoming increasingly popular; this dock is the first one we’ve seen that adds a wide array of digital components to your setup.

Your notebook will need to have one of the smaller 34mm ExpressCard slots to take advantage of the dock. The reason for this connection instead of standard USB is simple: it’s faster, up to five times as fast under normal use.

This offers the fastest and most reliable connection for digital.

As this is a throughput device, you won’t find HDMI installed, so the main digital connection is DVI but you’ll also find support for VGA and firewire and USB 2.0 for connecting standard peripherals.

This wouldn’t be multimedia without having full support for 5.1 surround sound and there is even a SP/DIF port for linking speakers or recording equipment.

If you have a home network, then you can even plug straight into the dock using Gigabit Ethernet, the fastest fixed connection to date.

Verdict

If you’re computing needs are minimal you won’t really get much benefit from the ExpressCard docking station but if you’re looking to make the most of digital entertainment this is a much better, and cheaper, way of adding extra features without having to buy a new notebook.

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Price as reviewed

£120

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The good

Digital inputs, easy to set up

The bad

Only works with ExpressCard slots

Quick verdict

This is a great device for sharing digital media from your notebook to external devices but you’re portable will need to have an ExpressCard slot in order to work correctly

Score

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